31 nights from dusk till dawn
by TaleWeaver
Summary: Drabble/ficlet collection, based on a Halloween theme prompt-set. All characters and genres.
1. Day 1: Vampires (post-season 1)

DISCLAIMER: Characters, situations and backstories herein belong to Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and El Rey Network.

RATING/WARNINGS: Varies. Leaving it as M overall, cause – well, Rodriguez!

AUTHOUR'S NOTES: Last year sometime, I ran across this set of prompts on a book review blog I follow – it was meant for blog entries, so I've swapped out a few. But most of these are direct from the original list.

My basic idea is to write and release a drabble/ficlet for every day... so I'll probably complete this sometime in mid-November!

SOUNDTRACK: My Halloweeen playlist – I may include it at the end as a bonus. If I come across a tune that really fits, I'll name it in the drabble.

Day 1: Vampire

_(note: I'm __**sure**__ that someone's written this line elsewhere, but c'mon! It's just too effing obvious not to use!)_

Another bar, another mob of blood-sucking-snakes, another fight for their lives.

At least this time, Seth and Kate know what they're dealing with... and they walked into **this** trap with their eyes wide open and loaded for bear – um, _culebras_.

This lot isn't anywhere near as organised as the Twister, nor as big – no temple or production-line-perfect setup. Kate and Seth pretty much planned on being the only two able and willing to fight, and are pleasantly surprised to find that some of the innocent bystanders (aka 'dinner') aren't entirely helpless. They don't account for any of the kills, but a good half-dozen show a heartening knack for self-defense; in particular, one frat boy type (who probably wandered in by accident) manages to get behind the bar, proving to have a good working knowledge on how to turn liquor bottles into molotov cocktails, and wicked aim.

The place is cleared out (and at least half on fire) by midnight, and Seth and Kate have already escorted the ten other people who still have a pulse into the parking lot, where there's lots of room to see any incoming stray _culebras_ who somehow managed to survive this particular party.

"What the hell were those... **things**?" asked Frat Boy. Out in the parking lot, he's starting to shiver from reaction and probably shock. He looks younger, too; high school young.

"Duh! They were vampires," snaps the biker chick with a near-explosion of scarlet curls.

"But they can't be!" protests Not-Frat-Boy. "They don't-"

"Say the word 'sparkle'," Seth warns, aiming his revolver at NFB's face, "and **I'm** going to kill you."

NFB just looks confused. "Exist. Vampires don't exist – wait, sparkle? Are you talking about that Twilight bullshit? No fucking way, dude! Whatever those things were, they sure as shit didn't look like gay disco mirrorballs! I mean, getting killed in there," his thumb points over his shoulder at the burning bar, "would have really sucked, but getting killed by one of those Twilight things would have been downright tragic! I mean, just how embarrassing would **that** be?"

_(other note: yes, this was very nearly my same reaction when I first saw Twilight's 'glittering Edward' scene.__If you're a Twilight fan... well, I respect the personal lifestyle choices of all people.)_


	2. Day 2: Fall Candle (Kate, pre-series)

Day 2: Fall Candle

_soundtrack: 'St Clare' by Suzanne Vega_

Despite the throng of volunteers, Kate and Scott have always been expected to help out around the church; once they started public high school, the more rigid schedule and various school activities meant that Momma and Daddy let them off a lot of their former duties.

One job that Kate had made sure she kept, though, was lighting the candles for Sunday evening services. It's simple, quick, and Daddy lets Miss Marcus, the owner of 'To Light Your Way', run her candle-making classes in the church's main hall, in exchange for a steady supply of candles for the altar.

Kate flicks the long barbeque lighter, and watches the flame take hold of the wick. She waits a few seconds for the scent of the candle to be released, and leans forward; not enough to singe her hair or eyelashes, but enough so that she can drink in the fragrance of cranberry and apples, lightly laced with cinnamon.

One time Miss Marcus came by with an extra delivery, and caught her lingering over the candles; when Kate explained how much she loved the scents, Miss Marcus chuckled sort of knowingly, and said that Kate was a born sensualist – and that it would come in handy when she was old enough to be interested in men.

Kate blushed hotly in response; but she's thought about it since, and decided that she wants to marry a man who appreciates things like scent and taste.

(Several years and several hundred miles later, Seth Gecko will give Kate an intense lecture on how to properly appreciate tequila, and how to tell a good one by taste. Kate gives him an odd sort of approving smile the whole time; Seth decides not to ask why.)


	3. Day 3: Halloween book (Kate & Scott)

_Soundtrack: "Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven' " read by Christopher Walken_

Pastor's wife or not, Jenny Fuller had always loved Halloween. When they'd married, she'd quickly persuaded Jacob that pagan holiday or not, there was no reason Halloween had to be sacrilegious at all, and she'd passed that love on to her children. It was partly due to Jenny Fuller's partisanship that the Bethel library ran a special story time during the week leading up to the event. Given how often the Fuller children used the library in their home-schooling, it wasn't a surprise that they were there every day. Storytime was an especial favorite, aided by a children's librarian who was a slightly frustrated actor, and channelled it into Halloween storytimes especially.

"Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore," Mr Olivier quavered, as if frightened. "Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"

His voice became stronger as the narrator's thoughts, as he added, "Quoth the raven-"

"Eat my shorts!"

Katie looked over at Kyle Winthorp, who was smiling as he added, "I know this one! It says 'eat my shorts'!"

"No it doesn't," Scott answered. "Only Bart Simpson says that."

Mr Olivier was looking at Kyle like he really wanted to kick him out of storytime, but knew that would be wrong. As Scott told their parents afterwards, you couldn't blame him – he'd been doing a great job of giving all them the shivers, until stupid Kyle had to go and open his big mouth.

"If you'd **paid** **attention**," Katie used her best withering tone, studied from her grandmother, "You would know that Lisa is reading Bart and Maggie this poem in that episode. And interrupting the librarian is very rude!"

She and Scott turned back to Mr Olivier, who sort of looked like Kyle had let the air out of his tyres, and did their best to look encouraging.

"C'mon, Mr Oliver, say it!" Scott urged.

Mr Olivier gave them a small smile. He then put on his spookiest tones, and continued, "Quoth the raven..."

He looked at Katie and Scott. They nodded.

"**Nevermore**!"

He made it sound so very spooky, that every kid in storytime shuddered at once!

_NOTE: 'The Raven', by Edgar Allen Poe, featured on the very first Simpsons Treehouse of Horror. You can find the full text of the poem easily on the net via pretty much any search engine. Sir Christopher Lee's recorded version is available on YouTube - and it's freaking spooky! As is Christopher Walken's version (which was next in the playlist). Though Vincent Price and James Earl Jones are no slouches either! Do you prefer Saruman or Darth Vader?_

_Mr Olivier is named for famed thespian Sir Laurence Olivier_


	4. Day 4: National Frappe Day (Fullers)

_4) National frappe day (Fuller family, right before the series)_

"Okay, kids, let's consider this the first stop on the Fuller family trip to Mexico," Jacob said, wearing his best genial face. God knew he'd put his kids through enough these past six months; having him behave like a grouch right at the start of the trip wouldn't do much to help the family bonding.

"Starbucks?" Scott asked flatly.

Jacob shook his head. "Coffee is one thing, son, Starbucks is quite another. 'Sides, I can't find one on this street. So much for one on every corner," he snickered.

Neither of Jacob's children knew why he had a grudge against Starbucks. But then, they didn't like the retail chain much themselves. Scott because that was where the lacrosse team hung out after school, and Kate because they refused to make anything but frappucinos, which she described as 'frappies' with a sneer.

"So, frappe for you, Katie-cakes?"

"Only if it's a **real** frappe, Daddy. I need the caffeine to keep me awake after a night of Scott's snoring."

"Hey!" Scott answered indignantly.

"Oh, don't even deny it," Kate snarked back. "You snore like a chainsaw!"

"Do not discount the usefulness of chainsaws, Kate," Jacob said, in an attempt to deflect a brewing sibling battle.

"No, Daddy, I'm not. I'm just saying, would it kill Scott to maybe sleep on his side?" Katie replied, not unreasonably.

"Fair enough. Alright then, a real frappe for you, and Scott? Caramel mocha for you?"

"That's fine, Dad. Thanks."

Jacob gave an imperceptible sigh of relief at having a more-or-less harmonious start to the trip, and headed for the RV door.

So far, they seemed to be off to a good start. Jacob hoped it held up – at least to the Mexican border.

_(All I can say is... when I went to the US in July/August 2013, I didn't see all that many Starbucks. Though maybe I just don't notice them, because I don't drink coffee. The one time Starbucks tried opening in Adelaide it folded in less than a year – although we've got at least 15 Cibo Matto franchises in the CBD alone! Guess we like our coffee European style...)_


	5. Day 5: Skeletons (Scott, post-season 1)

_Day 5: Skeleton (Scott, post-season 1)_

_Soundtrack: Dead man's party – Oingo Boingo_

Scott took a deep breath he didn't need, before he plunged into the crowds of Carnaval. After his re-birth, he'd wandered over to the coast, mostly because Kate wasn't the only Fuller who loved the beach. A darker part of him remembered all the tourists, who would probably make for good eating. Whatever that bastard Carlos had done otherwise, he'd given Scott a good rundown on the culebras basics, at least, including the best ways to choose a meal and body disposal.

But he hadn't mentioned that you could feed without killing... but then, Carlos had an all-you-can-eat buffet every night, where killing everyone in the place was only practical. Scott was actually kind of proud of himself for figuring out that part on his own. It only worked about half the time – which was one of the reasons Scott mostly picked tourists, with no one around to make a fuss – because he needed to feed pretty much every night to be able to control himself that much.

But Carnaval, here in Mazatlan, had huge crowds of revellers every night. Scott would be able to control his feeding, especially on people who were tipsy or tweaking enough that they'd think the whole thing was a dream. (Oddly, drink and drugs didn't cross over with the feeding. Probably just as well.)

Scott had a good stash of money, because one of his first feedings had been on one of Carlos' supply stations, with cash and drugs littered around the place. After he'd glutted himself on the half-dozen workers, Scott had set the place on fire to cover his tracks. Given Jacob Fuller's anti-drugs stance, Scott liked to think that his Dad might have been proud of him for one part of that night's activities, at least.

But the money was enough to keep him going for awhile, especially since Kate had left him the RV. Scott didn't know how she'd gotten away from the Twister, but when he'd emerged from a day of hiding in a nook right under the wreckage of the Twister – he did **not** want to get press-ganged into Carlos' cartel, thank you very much – it had still been there in the parking lot. His new, ultra-keen sense of smell had followed the remnants of his sister's unique scent around the RV, and centred on the bumper – the same place their Momma had always put the hide-a-key on the family car, because she was notorious for losing the car keys in her purse every time she went shopping.

When he found the keys, with Kate's scent all but imprinted on the warm metal, Scott knew that despite everything, his sister still loved him.

It had been what kick-started his need to control his new state of being; the idea that maybe, he could track down Kate and show up at her door, and not be met by a stake to the heart.

Scott stopped at the edge of the parade, taking a moment to appreciate the floats passing by. Maybe one day he could go up to New Orleans for Carnival there... Kate had always wanted to go, and it seemed to be the biggest part of post-Katrina recovery.

The flashing lights from one of the floats bounced off the windows of the stores lining the street, and something caught Scott's eye. Turning away from the crowd, he headed towards the gift shop, and spent a good five minutes looking over the display. Made up of jewellery, postcards, little framed tableaus and paintings, they all featured little skeletons. Despite the subject, the whole display seemed kind of funny – what was that SAT word? Whimsical?

On impulse, Scott bought a pair of skeleton earrings and a pack of postcards. When he found out where Kate was, he'd send her the earrings. Just to tell her that he was still around...

...and that he still loved her, too.

_(NOTE: this was actually inspired by an art gallery near my home; the owners frequently go to Mexico on buying trips. So if you're ever in Adelaide, check out the Jackalope Studio Gallery in Port Adelaide!_

_I've come across a few dissenting opinions about this, so I thought it worth mentioning: if you pay close attention to Scott's dialogue in the scene where he and Carlos are ransacking the RV, Scott isn't automatically working with Carlos because he's a culebras now. He made a deal with Carlos to get Jacob and Kate out of the labyrinth in exchange for Scott handing over the bearer bonds and spying on Santanico with Richie. Since he didn't know that Carlos had specific plans for Kate of a sacrificial nature, Scott didn't have any reason to think Carlos wouldn't hold up his end.)_


	6. Day 6: Oktoberfest (Seth & Richie)

_(NOTE: according to the news broadcast Jacob switches off in ep 2, Seth and Richie are both in their late twenties – and according to Freddie Gonzales in the same ep, __**Richie **__is the older of the two, in direct contrast to the original movie. I've put the brothers as 27/28 in season 1, respectively. If Seth's been in prison five years in 2014, he must have gone away in 2008/2009, making him 21/22 at the time.)_

_Day 6: Oktoberfest (Seth and Richie, pre-series) _

_"__O'zapft is!"_

Seth cheered at the top of his lungs in response, along with most of the crowd that surrounded him and his brother.

"Now we can get to the party!" Seth enthused.

"Honestly, Seth, is it really such a thrill to be able to drink legally here?" Richie asked. "You'll be legal in the US in just over a year anyway."

"Fuck, yeah," Seth replied. He grinned and punched Richie in the bicep. "Stop being such a killjoy, man! We're flush with cash, thanks to that job in Cleveland, so let's get down and do some serious partying!"

"Just be careful with the steins, please? Oktoberfest beer is 2% heavier in gravity than normal beer, and I am not going to hold your head while you barf up your stomach lining."

"Alright, Richie, I promise to drink responsibly. Lots of sausage and saurkraut between chugs."

"Oh, great," groaned Richie. "Our hotel room is going to **reek**. We'll be lucky if we don't get kicked out for room damage due to farts."

"Like they're going to care during Oktoberfest?" Seth asked. When Richie shrugged, conceding the point, Seth punched him on the other bicep. "Besides, it's not like you're the designated driver or some shit. Let's make this a part of the Gecko brothers legend!"

"What the hell," Richie grinned. "Let's make history!"

A quick special-handshake later, and the next stage of the Gecko brothers legend was underway.

_NOTE: 'O'zapft is' means 'it's tapped', and is said by the incumbent Mayor of Munich to open every Oktoberfest since 1950, after he taps the first keg of Oktoberfest beer._

_And yes, Oktoberfest beer does have 2% more gravity - I'm pretty sure that means it's stronger! Among other interesting things I learned researching this segment, Oktoberfest beer must made according to a strict code called the _Reinheitsgebot_, and be brewed inside the city limits of Munich. Only six breweries qualify, and they've actually trademarked the term 'Oktoberfest beer'. Oh, and Oktoberfest didn't become a non-smoking event until after Seth went to prison._


	7. Day 7: Pumpkin flavoured (Gonzales fam)

_Just as I thought, I've already started running behind! In my defence, I do have a good reason - it's a long weekend here, and I'm been inducting my brother into the FDTD fandom!_

_And hey... I'm even putting up day 7 & 8 early!_

_Day 7: Pumpkin Flavored (Freddie and Margaret Gonzales, Pre-series)_

"Morning, Frederico," Earl stated, walking into the Gonzales' newly-purchased home. He tipped his Stetson to the lady cooking in the kitchen, and added, "Good morning, Margaret. How are you feeling today?"

"Pretty good, Earl," Margaret replied with a smile. "Would you like some biscuits? I seem to be baking non-stop these days."

"Which is great, really," Freddie added. "But it's all pumpkin-flavoured! Biscuits, cookies – even muffins! Margaret's doesn't want anything else lately. I swear, I think she's given up chocolate."

"So, pumpkin's been what you're craving, then?" Earl asked politely. "When Ramona was pregnant, she was crazy about oranges."

Margaret gave a careless shrug. "Hormones, I guess."

Eyeing her husband carefully, she leaned onto the kitchen counter, picked up her coffee and sipped, a pumpkin muffin resting on a plate at her elbow.

Freddie took a sip of his coffee, paused, and put the cup down carefully. "Wait a second... did you say - **pregnant**?"

_Note: no idea how Earl moseyed into this segment – it was just supposed to be Freddie and Margaret! Guess that's how much of a badass he is!_

_During his death scene, he asks Freddie to tell 'Ramona' he's sorry. Given that she's been dead two years, it seems logical that it's his wife's name, rather than his daughter's._

_And yeah, in case I didn't make it clear – this is how Freddie finds out that Billy's on the way._


	8. Day 8: werewolves (Seth & Kate, post-s1)

_Day 8: Werewolves (Seth & Kate, post-season 1)_

"Kate, what the fuck are these?" Seth held up a brightly-shining bullet. "Is this what you blew several hundred bucks of our cash on?"

"They're silver," Kate said primly, as she racked up a full magazine of bolts on her crossbow.

"What do we need silver for? They don't do shit to _culebras_ that ordinary bullets don't."

"They're for werewolves."

"Were-" Seth sighed. "Kate, honey, there's no such thing."

"Like there's no such thing as vampires?" Kate said, giving him a look so pointed she could fire it from her crossbow.

"Well, as far as we personally know, there isn't," Seth shot back. "We have _culebras_, which strongly resemble vampires but are, in fact, a different race altogether. More to the point, there's no wolves in Mexico, Kate. So therefore no werewolves. There might be were-_coyotes_, maybe, but there's no indication that silver would do shit to them."

Fuck, he sounded like Richie, snarking at him for mixing up the French and Indian War with the War of Independence. Seth suppressed a wince, as a spark of pain danced through him.

"So we save them for when we go to Europe," Kate shrugged. "Once you and Richie destroy the Lords of Night, there won't be any more culebras. We'll need something to do, so let's go see if there really are any werewolves of London."

Seth regarded her with narrowed eyes. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?"

"Nope," Kate told him with a grin. "But hey, as a bonus you can scope out the Tower of London. That Moriarty douchebag can get to the Crown Jewels, so can you."

_NOTE: Actually, there are wolves in Mexico; in pre-Colombian times, they were highly regarded as symbols of war and the Sun. (Hmm... given that one of the Hero Twins is also known as the Hunter, and later became the Sun, I'm wondering if this is going to come up in the show) However, the Mexican Gray Wolf had become all but extinct in the US south-west by the 1930's, and in Mexico by the 1950's. _

_Nowadays, Mexican wolves mostly exist only in zoos – though a breeding and release program is underway, and 2014 recorded the first birth of a wild wolf litter in Mexico. However, given that all the litter's ancestors were raised in zoos, I'm pretty sure that any werewolves would have been discovered by now._

_If there's a flaw in my hit-and-run research, here, by all means please tell me!_


	9. Halloween animal (SethKate, future)

**Day 9: Favourite Halloween Animal (Seth/Kate, future)**

"I'm still kind of buzzed. What about you?" Kate asked, as she leaned against the car door.

"Well, I'm not interested in going to sleep early, if that's what you mean," Seth answered, smirking.

With any other woman, he would find it frustrating or even annoying that she couldn't just come out and say that she wanted to fuck. With Kate, he found it – God help him – downright adorable. He had to get Kate wasted on tequila or lots of foreplay to get his lover to lose the mien of the preacher's daughter and unleash her inner vixen... but damn, it was **so** worth it. Last time he'd managed it, they broke the fucking bed!

But all thoughts of getting Kate naked vanished, when a subtle, indistinguishable scrape reached both their ears. Seth reached for his revolver (now loaded with dum-dums), and Kate's hand flashed to the stake in the back of her jeans waistband. They'd never been followed back to their home base after a job before, and the very thought kicked them both into high gear.

Then a soft thump made them both look at the hood of the car, and Seth was literally an instant away from pulling the trigger, when he sensed Kate relaxing again.

From the hood of the car, emerald eyes locked onto Seth's and held, initiating a brief contest of wills. Seth lost with good grace, and gave a respectful nod to a fellow hunter in the night, before he let his grin out.

His opponent gave a regal nod in acknowledgement, and turned to Kate.

Kate surrendered without even putting up a fight - she reached out her hand, cooing, and the black cat allowed her to scratch behind it's ears, nudging it's head against her palm to encourage her.

For some reason, it didn't surprise Seth at all when the cat followed them inside. He was just grateful that when the cat jumped up into the room's sole chair, it pointedly turned away from the bed.

_(Actually, the Raven is my equal favourite with the black cat (probably because of 'Forever Knight'), but I've already used it._

_Given how Poe the Cat – yes, he's already named himself – seems to have chosen to join Seth and Kate on their travels, I can say it's very likely that he's going to be showing up again.)_


	10. Day 10: Urban legend (AU, SethKate)

Day 10: Urban legend (AU, Seth/Kate)

SMUT AND VIOLENCE WARNING

_This is the first prompt I had to swap out: the original was 'fall or Halloween blog feature'; I picked 'urban legend' as a substitute. I'd originally had a vague idea of Seth and Kate making out in a car to lure out a serial killer copying the Hookman (or something along those lines anyway), but, well... this sort of sprouted instead. All things considered, 'slasher movie' is probably more appropriate, but oh well._

_In the interests of CYA, there are implications of Kate/Seth/Richie, for the many of you who are into that. I don't think it would work very well myself, especially post season 1, but it sort of just appeared in this._

_Also, I am not kidding; this is where I earn the M rating. SMUT AND BLOODY MURDER LIE AHEAD._

When Kate had accepted a counsellor position at Camp Sunnydale, she'd just wanted a summer job that would get her out of Bethel. A chance to spread her wings a little, be her own person, and get to know some new people who didn't automatically attach the title 'Pastor Fuller's daughter' or even 'Scott's big sister' to her name. That plan had taken a near-fatal blow when her ex-boyfriend had turned up at the same camp. One of the reasons she'd wanted to leave Bethel for awhile was to get away from all of the people asking what had gone wrong, when Kyle was such a sweet boy, and wasn't there a chance that they could fix things?

Yes, Kyle was sweet. But Kate had discovered that **she** wasn't.

She tried to be a good person, and hoped she succeeded. But all it had taken was spending one day alone with the criminally handsome and charismatic Camp Manager, and Kate's entire view of herself had flipped upside-down like a ship in the ocean.

If it hadn't been for that day, Kate would have simply enjoyed her teenage crush on Seth Gecko, barely even imagining – let alone daring - to actually say or do anything about it. But that one day they'd spent working alone together, with all the other staff busy at the other end of the camp or in town, had made Kate's instant case of lust evolve into something far deeper. It was all the small glimpses she'd received into Seth's mind and heart. The bone-deep mischievous streak, the love of winning, and putting one over on the foolish – even the hints she'd caught of a darker side to him, that Seth would have no compunction in breaking the law if the reason was good enough. But it was probably how he acted with his younger brother – Richie had joined them for lunch – that sealed the deal.

As an older sibling herself, Kate had a special appreciation of the fact that Seth was an excellent big brother. It was easy to see that he didn't actually like the forest or the outdoors all that much, but he'd taken the job at Camp Sunnydale for Richie. Kate sensed instinctively from that first lunchtime that Richie was a gifted, but tortured soul. Seth had admitted to her some time ago that he'd brought Richie out here in order to give him a measure of peace that he hadn't been able to find anywhere else.

Some of the other campers – even counsellors - found Richie creepy, or even scary. Not Kate. She was secure in the fact that Richie liked her very much. Richie was the one who had given her the first hint that Seth might just return her feelings, and since then he'd helped cover for her and Seth on a regular basis. Kate owed Richie a lot; she was crazy in love – and in lust – but not so crazy that she didn't realise that her love affair with Seth had to be kept absolutely secret.

Kate knew exactly how badly she was behaving. Her parents would be aghast if they knew what she was doing here at Camp Sunnydale; fornicating outside marriage - with a man ten years her senior! She didn't care. Seth Gecko wasn't a bad man, but he was a **wicked** man, and he made her feel like a woman. From the very first time she saw him, he stirred desires in her that she hadn't realised she possessed. Her body came to life underneath his touch. Three weeks after they'd met, Seth had kissed her for the first time. Two weeks after that, they'd had sex for the first time after a naked moonlight swim. Under Seth's expert guidance, Kate had swiftly learned to not only embrace, but thoroughly enjoy her own sexual needs.

Kate knew it was stupid to come out here into the forest, especially in the dark. It was completely obvious that Kyle was just making up stupid stories about some guy in a coverall and a mask stalking the woods to punish horny teenagers – her ex had started the childish game the same day Kate first realised that her feelings for the drop-dead-gorgeous camp manager might be requited. But still, the local Sheriff had just confirmed on the news that several teenagers had gone missing from the valley in the last week. More to the point, Seth had his own cabin with a real, queen-sized bed. Surely he could ask his brother to bunk elsewhere for one night? Kate knew Richie wouldn't mind – unlike Seth, he really enjoyed hunting and camping, and he slept out in the woods on a regular basis anyway.

But when Seth had met her behind the main hall, he'd just taken her hand and brought her here, to this small clearing with just enough light for her to clearly see every mouth-wateringly sexy inch of his form.

Kate leaned back against the trunk of a tree, and gripped Seth's shoulders to steady herself. It had only taken a few minutes to walk here, but she could already feel the damp heat between her legs, fuelled by her fantasies of what Seth was about to do to her. Seth hurriedly stripped off his tight T-shirt, and Kate couldn't resist the urge to trace several of the black flames tattooed on his arm with her fingertips. Seth shivered in reaction, and Kate felt her blood running hotter. Her nipples were already hard, and they rasped almost painfully against the rough cloth of her plaid shirt. Even in the dark of the woods, she was so close to Seth that she could see the lewd smirk spread across his face.

"Preacher's daughter is hot for some bad boy, huh?"

Kate raised her chin proudly. "No. I'm hot for a **man**. One who's very good at being bad."

She might be disgracefully lustful now, but she refused to feel ashamed about it.

The smirk became a genuine smile, and Kate found it even harder to breathe for a second. "Good for you, Kate." The smile became tinged with danger, as he added, "Better for me... because I'm not interested in teenage girls, either. I want a woman who knows what she wants, and can push back as good as I give it to her."

The weak moonlight glinted off steel, and Kate's breath caught for an entirely different reason as Seth raised the knife. Her heart pounded as the blade lowered to her chest, and she gasped with each movement – with each button being cut from her shirt.

When her shirt hung open completely, baring her breasts to his gaze, Seth slipped the Swiss Army knife back into his back pocket, and chuckled. "No bra?"

Kate licked her lips and fought back her blush. "I didn't want to have any more layers between us than I absolutely had to."

"Didn't want any delays for the main event, huh?"

Daringly, Kate reached for the button of Seth's jeans, and told him, "No, I didn't. The sooner I can feel you inside me, the better."

Seth gave that dark, wicked chuckle again, and pulled down her shorts and panties in one shot. Kate shimmied out of her lower clothing even as she attacked Seth's jeans, so that she wore nothing but her useless shirt and sneakers. Kate pressed her back against the tree, the cloth of her shirt protecting her from the bark, and bit her lip as she reached out to her lover.

"Yes, that's it sweetheart," Seth hissed in her ear. He reached down to hook his hand under her knee, and Kate wrapped her leg around his hips. "Open your legs for me, honey, welcome me inside."

Kate moaned as Seth thrust hard, pushing as deep as he could with the first stroke – he always did that, never took it easy on her except for the night he'd taken her virginity. She loved the way he didn't hold back, that Seth always fucked her like she was his equal.

"Shit, Katie," Seth growled in her ear. "I love how tight you are – I love how wet you are for me."

"Well, I love how you turn me on, how you always make sure I am," Kate panted. "I love how you fill me up."

Kate and Seth were too focused on each other to notice the blank, white face watching them from the shadows. Beneath his mask, the one who thought of himself as the Slayer of the Sinful ground his teeth as he waited to strike, forcing himself to wait until the pair in front of him were so lost in their disgusting rut that he could attack without caution – the Slayer had had no trouble with the pimpled, skinny teenage boys and girls that he'd struck down so far, but Seth Gecko was a man, strong and muscled and a far more experienced fighter than the Slayer.

The girl flung her arms around Gecko's neck and gave a soft cry, her body thrashing in her lover's strong hold as she climaxed.

The Slayer tightened his grip on his axe.

The razor-sharp steel bit deep, so smoothly that it was several heartbeats before the mortal wound was felt.

The axe dropped to the ground, with only a tiny crackle from the bed of leaves, and the Slayer turned slowly, eyes wide. Only to find himself almost toe to toe with another, equally pale face, eyes hidden as the lenses of his glasses caught the moonlight and flashed menacingly.

A second knife slid like butter between the Slayer's ribs, and with both lungs punctured he couldn't made a sound.

"This is **my** territory," hissed Richie Gecko.

Ritchie waited until the pitiful amateur collapsed to the ground, before he casually stepped over the new corpse and moved into a better position to watch Seth and Kate's lovemaking.

Ritchie smoothed his hand down his fly, flat and undisturbed as always, and smiled in contentment. As a result of the abuse their father had heaped on them as children, and what it had forced Richie to do in order to stop it, Richie's body couldn't react sexually. His resulting frustration and anger had led to him honing his killing skills while just a teenager. Fortunately, he'd only had to kill a handful of times before he'd found a better, safer way. On a trip to Mexico in mid-adolescence, he'd met a priestess of the old Mayan gods who had taught him to unlock the true power of his mind – and he'd found that his unresponsive body could feel sexual pleasure after all. He just needed to experience it through the unique, intense bond he shared with his semi-twin.

Seth was now pounding hard into his lover, his own orgasm quickly approaching, and Richie clinically admired the perfection of Kate's moonlit breasts as they bounced violently, shockwaves rippling through her whole body from the force of Seth's fucking.

Richie took a deep, slow, breath, and wrapped his fingers around a convenient tree branch, gripping hard. The pleasure Seth was channelling through their bond was more intense than anything he'd ever fed Richie before – so intense that Richie could almost feel his dead manhood twitch.

But then, it was only to be expected. Seth had had many women over the years, partly because he was always careful to make sure he gave at least equal pleasure as he received. But this woman was different; Kate was the last woman, the lover who had already ruined him for all others.

Ritchie had always been able to see truths and connections that were hidden from the eyes of others; he had long since accepted it as compensation for his condition. His training in Mexico had increased it a hundredfold, turning glimpses into full-colour visions. So the first time he met Kate Fuller, he'd known she was the missing piece of their family. Wife, sister, and lover - this was the one he and Seth had both been waiting for. Gentle enough to heal them both, strong enough to stand tall against the violent havoc their tempers sometimes wreaked. Understanding enough to accept their unusual bond, and loving enough to not only fit in the spaces between them but to make her own space as well.

Seth's psychic senses were almost as dead as Richie's sexuality, but the first time he'd laid eyes on Kate, he realised he had to have her. The first day they spent together alone... Seth told her the **real** story behind his tattoo without even thinking about it. The Gecko brothers had planned the seduction of Kate Fuller together, Richie's psychic insight coupled with Seth's seductive physicality.

Richie's whole body froze, taken by surprise as the kickback of Seth's climax washed through him, barely able to breathe.

As he watched Seth and Kate dress – Kate self-consciously clutching the front of her shirt closed – Richie started arranging and re-arranging the pieces of his latest plan in his mind.

Luckily, Kate would turn eighteen by the end of the summer; even if her parents objected to her union with Seth (and Richie was fair enough to understand why they probably would) the Fullers couldn't actually take Kate away from them. But Kate's happiness was now as important to Richie as Seth's was. Kate adored her parents, and would be saddened by their disapproval - not to mention, she would most certainly want to be married in their church. But then, Vegas hadn't worked out very well for Seth last time anyway.

Following Seth and Kate back to camp at a discreet distance, Richie made a mental note to come back later to dispose of the wannabe's remains, then turned his mind back to the problem of persuading the Fullers to give their blessing to Seth marrying Kate next summer.

Richie knew that June was the traditional month for weddings; but he thought Kate would be most beautiful as an August bride.

_This AU's sort of snuck up on me, but I think I've got some more play left in it. So now I'm wondering – I've got one or two other prompts I'll need to swap out. Should I write more of those particular prompts in this particular AU?_


	11. Day 11: Zombie (Gonzales family, future)

Day 11: Zombie (Gonzales family, future)

_Okay, I'm cheating, I admit it. This prompt was originally 'spooky place' (I even had a nascent idea for it), but since 11 October is also the date for the 2014 Adelaide Zombie Walk, I'm changing it, because I'm The Authour, so I can do stuff like that! Mwahahahaha!_

_Happy lurching, everybody!_

_Soundtrack – This is Halloween – Danny Elfman (original soundtrack, Nightmare before Christmas)_

Freddie couldn't help it – he tried to be serious, but the smile wouldn't stay locked away.

His daughter was adorable, even with a cheesy fake eyeball dangling down her cheekbone. All the other girls in her class were princesses, or witches – with a couple of superheroes thrown in for flavour. But his Billy decided to be a zombie! Typical of his little girl.

"Daddy, you're not supposed to smile at me! I'm supposed to be scary," Billy scolded him.

So far, Billy showed every sign of being the one to follow him into the rangers, not her younger brother Earl. But that was fine with Freddie – Hell, if years of being married to Margaret hadn't convinced him of the general toughness of females, having Kate Fuller as a friend and occasional fight-ally definitely would have.

"Oh, so you want brains, huh? Help you keep up your grades in school?" Freddie asked. "Cause all that blood looks more like ketchup."

Billy giggled. "That's because it is ketchup, Daddy! I'm a **vegetarian** zombie! I only want **grains**!"

_Okay, so that was NOT where I was expecting to go with this. I was looking up all the different recipes for zombie cocktails the other night... I think it works, though!_


	12. Day 12: Scary book (Scott &Kate, future)

Day 12: Scary horror book (Kate & Scott, far future)

_Respectfully dedicated to Stephen King and __Salem's Lot__. This is, hands down, still the most frightening book I've ever read - the first time I read it, it scared the crap out of me every time I opened it! It's been about twenty years since, but I still remember sitting on the old bike racks outside my school at lunch. It was about 30 degrees celcius outside, and I was __**shivering**__._

Scott reached out, and gently shook Kate's shoulder.

Her answering scream rocked the entire bar; good thing it was closed, or she might have started a riot.

"Jesus Christ Kate!" Scott nearly jumped five feet in the air – he missed being able to do that for real.

"What did you do that for?" Kate whisper-screamed at him.

"I was trying to ask you if you wanted another drink before we go home. Seth and Richie will be back soon," Scott replied breathlessly. "What's with trying to shatter the windows?"

Kate sighed, and held up her thick paperback.

Scott took one look at the cover and groaned. "Are you shitting me? You're the big bad _culebras_ hunter, the most deadly _gringa_ in Mexico – you helped defeat the frackin' Lords of the Night! There are still places in this country where you're rumoured to wear a necklace of _culebras_ fangs that you ripped out with your bare hands before you killed them!"

Kate frowned. "That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. And that includes Richie's idea about Fort Knox and the water balloons."

Scott ignored her and continued, "And you scream over a vampire book? Are you kidding me?"

"It's **Stephen King**!" Kate hissed back. Her eyes dropped to the mahogany bar-top and she shrugged one shoulder. "And... well, I kind of thought that after all my hunting, it wouldn't scare me anymore, so I could just enjoy the thrills, y'know?"

"So much for that idea," Scott rolled his eyes.


	13. Day 13:Trick 'r' treat (Kate&Freddie,AU)

Day 13 : Trick 'r' treat (Kate and Freddie, AU)

_I was going to do another entry in my 'Camp Sunnydale' AU per the 'aye' votes for day 10, but I came across a trivia list a couple of days ago, and found an odd little fact that wouldn't get out of my head. In my forthcoming Kate-centric fic, at one point she muses about what would have happened if she'd driven the RV back to Texas with Freddie riding shotgun. This is something that might have happened if she'd done just that. _

Kate grimaced to herself, shifting her weight from left foot to right. Her 1950's sweetheart outfit had been a pretty good idea – she wasn't showing any skin to give Hank ideas, and if something happened, her flat saddle shoes meant she could book without tripping like some stupid blonde in a horror movie.

Pity she hadn't taken an equal amount of care with her choice of date. In her defense, Hank, who sat behind her in American History at her new high school, had always behaved like a nice guy before.

Maybe it was because he was drunk with his basketball team buddies. Testosterone poisoning?

It was times like this Kate wondered if she'd appreciated Kyle enough when he was alive. She hoped that Kyle had felt that way, at least.

"Hey man, got the paint?" Jimmy called out.

"Right here!" Hank yelled back, brandishing a spray-can in each hand.

"I don't get it," Kate sighed. "What's the point of all this, when we could be at the dance?"

She really wasn't asking anyone in particular, but one of the cheerleaders answered anyway.

"The guy who owns this dairy is the father of the Dillon Panthers' quarterback, even though Dave should be going to **our** school," Jenny explained. "Marking them in Cowboys colours is reclaiming our territory!"

Kate did her best to look mildly enthusiastic, in order to ward off suspicion. In her head, however, she was counting down the minutes since she'd sent an emergency text.

In answer to her prayers (maybe God hadn't given up on her after all?), a siren sounded close by, and a blue light started flashing.

"Holy shit, it's the cops!" Susie squealed.

"Actually, it's the Rangers," came a deep voice, growling out the darkness.

The two cheerleaders let out small screams, and Hank dropped the paint cans in fright. Jimmy just fell over – although that could have been the six-pack he'd slammed in the car (good thing Kate had already been driving at the time).

Freddie Gonzales stepped out of the shadows of the main building, looming impressively despite the fact he was the shortest man there. Perhaps it was the dark expression on his face – it was the same look he'd worn when he and Kate had faced off against Sex Machine in the labyrinth.

"Boys, you **do** know it's illegal to graffiti a cow in Texas?" Freddie growling. "I could toss you all in jail right now for this, and throw in a few charges for underage drinking and general stupidity. Pretty sure that would make you all ineligible for sports teams this year. Wonder how Coach Cortez would take it, knowing that one of his best shooters won't be playing this season?" He gave a softer, but still dangerous look towards Susie and Tania, "Or how Coach Sylvester would take having her National Cheer Team put at risk by losing two of hers?"

Susie and Jenny went pale (for Susie, who was dressed as post-series Bella Swan, went even whiter under her silver-dusted and ghost-face makeup, which was a real achievement). Kate had met the cheer coach, and couldn't blame them.

"Fortunately for you, my wife managed to get a sitter, so I have better things to do than spend Halloween booking you losers into jail. So seeing as you haven't actually sprayed anything yet, I suggest you call a cab to get to whatever supposedly epic party you're on your way to and get the hell out of here."

Jenny timidly raised a hand. "Um, sir? I haven't had anything to drink, 'cause I'm on Atkins, so I can drive us to the party. You can breathalyse me if you want?"

Freddie looked at Kate. She nodded slightly.

"Fine, I'll take your word for it. As for you, young lady," he turned that fearsome gaze on Kate, who hunched in on herself in not-entirely-fake-trepidation, "we will be having a talk. Get in the car."

Kate nodded and scuttled to the car.

As she rounded the building, she heard Hank hiccupping, "Wait, where are you going, Kate?"

"You think I'm going to let the girl who pays me board spend the rest of the evening with your dumb ass?" Freddie snarked. "Or are you so drunk you can't even recognise me from when you picked her up an hour and a half ago? A helpful hint for the future, boy; you're never going to impress a woman by getting drunk. Especially if it means you're too out of it to actually pay attention to her."

Freddie shook his head and did his best Clint Eastwood stride out to the car.

Kate was waiting in the passenger seat as instructed, and even as Freddie fastened his seat belt, she told him, "Thank you **so** much for the rescue."

"Happy to help," Freddie chuckled. "Want me to drop you off at school? The dance only started an hour or so ago, so you'll just be fashionably late."

"Please," Kate nodded. "I should have just gone with my friends from choir in the first place. I just wanted to try feeling normal again, y'know?" She sighed. "For some reason, I'd forgotten just how stupid high school boys can act. I think I need to start looking at older men."

_I did some googling; while one website says that it's still a hanging offense to graffiti someone else's cow (doing it to your own cow is okay, apparently), I'm pretty sure they've downgraded that to either a criminal misdemeanor, or a state jail felony, depending on the monetary amount of damage. It's chapter 28 of the Texas state penal code, but I'm not sure if it's 28.03 (criminal mischief) 28.04 (reckless damage or destruction) or 28.08 (graffiti, but that only talks about buildings). _

_In an extra trivia note, all the OC names are musical tributes; Jimmy from Jimmy Eat World, Jenny and Susie from the Everly Brothers ('Poor Jenny' and 'Wake up Little Susie') and Hank from Hank Williams, which I heard playing from Mum's radio through my open window._


	14. Day 14: Ghosts (Kate&Santanico, post-S1)

Day 14: Ghost (Kate and Santanico, post-season 1)

_I originally had an idea for Seth and Kate, a sort of fusion with the novel 'Sparrow Hill Road', by Seanan McGuire (one of the most interesting novels I've read in 2014), but since I've fallen behind again, I was pressed for time. So I decided to go with the more metaphorical meaning instead. A slightly different version of this scene will probably pop up in my forthcoming Kate-centric fic. _

"I frighten you," Santanico chuckled. "The dreaded _gringa_ Hunter. Is it simply because you know how easily I could kill you?"

Kate shook her head. "When I was in the labyrinth under the Twister, Sex Machine – Professor Tanner - told me that Carlos brought me there on purpose, same as he did Richie and Seth. Said it was because sacrificing me to the Gods would appease them for losing you."

Santanico's lazy expression vanished in less than an eyeblink, and she stared at Kate in something like horror.

"I read Tanner's notes, and I've been studying since, and I paid a lot of attention to what the stories say about the Mistress of the Night. Especially the bits about how you got that way.

"I'm **terrified** of you... because I think that a very long time ago, you were a lot like me."

"Yes," the _culebras_ queen said slowly. "I think I was."

_So, I was sort of aiming for 'ghost of your past'. I firmly believe that Tanner-Carlos deal to sacrifice Kate (and probably those other women) to appease the Lords for losing Santanico was something Carlos came up with on his own; given how much Santanico hates what's been done to her, even now I can't see her being okay with the same thing being done to another young girl. _


	15. Day 15:childs costume (Seth&Richie)

Day 15: childhood costume (Seth & Richie, pre-series)

_Soundtrack: This is Halloween – Marilyn Manson_

"Trick 'r' treat!"

The middle-aged housewife who was trying – and failing – to make a convincing Marilyn Monroe, cooed drunkenly as she passed out fun-sized Mars bars.

"Oh, what big fangs you have, you scary vampire! What a cute little witch!" Her eyes landed on Seth and Richie, dressed in dark suits and ties, and fedoras.

"Don't you two look smart! You're the Blues Brothers, right?" She waved a hand as she warbled, "Lemme see you shake your tail feather!"

Richie grinned, and said, "Actually, ma'am-"

Seth trod on his foot. "That's right ma'am – we're on a mission from God. We had the sunglasses, too, but we kept tripping on the sidewalk."

"Probably a good idea you took them off, then," Marilyn told them. She dropped an extra into both their bags, and winked, "Because I'm a sucker for a handsome man in a suit."

As they followed the other members of the neighbourhood watch-sponsored trick 'r' treat group down the path back to the street, Richie asked, "What was that for, Seth? We're not the Blues brothers."

"But every time you explain who the Krays were, they get creeped out and don't give us any candy!" Seth told him in exasperation. "Do you want a good haul from this trick 'r' treating caper or not?"

_Reginald "Reggie" and Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were twin brothers who ruled the East End of London's organised crime scene in the 1950's – 60's. In their 'legit' work as owners of several West End nightclubs they mixed with prominent entertainers and politicians, and during the 1960's became celebrities in their own right, even being interviewed on television._

_I envision Seth and Richie being 10/11 in this – not sure the Blues Brothers is really appropriate either, but I don't think they ever lived with someone who cared about appropriate viewing for kids. _


	16. Pumpkin Patch (Gonzales fam, future)

Day 16: Pumpkin patch (Gonzales family, future)

_Dedicated to Linus Van Pelt (and Charles Schultz), and to all of us with the imagination and heart to believe in childhood saints._

"So then, the great pumpkin rises into the air, and flies through the night. If you're smart enough to spot him, he'll give you extra candy! And not just supermarket candy either – the really good stuff!" Billy pronounced.

Her little brother's eyes were wide in delighted awe. "So, it's like a stakeout, like Daddy goes on? But instead of bad guys, you get chocolate?"

Billy nodded.

"Wow. That's so cool. You think the Great Pumpkin knows Grandpa Earl, up in heaven?"

Billy chewed her lip in thought. "I dunno, Earl. I'm pretty sure that the Great Pumpkin can only fly in this world. Maybe they e-mail?"

_so, not much, but I needed to write something for this, so I could kick myself into gear on the others. I can't post out-of-order on this, so until I finish all the in-between ones, you'll need to go to AO3 if you're really desperate to read the rest. Otherwise, I should be finished with this fairly soon anyway... now I've caught up on Agents of SHIELD!_


	17. Day 17: Black as night

The hotel was actually pricey enough to have flat-screen TV's, much to the cat's disappointment. He had much preferred the old, boxy sets, which had enough room for him to curl up on top and bask in the warmth the devices threw off.

The feline – who had been named 'Poe' by the humans he'd selected in this life – had resigned himself to simply curling up behind these much less satisfactory rectangles for naps. Proper sleeping had to be done within eyeshot of his humans, preferably on a comfortable cushion of some sort.

In other lives, he'd simply joined his human of choice in slumber, finding warmth in their own bodies. However, not only did the Sun Hunter and the Light of Grace have a very active mating cycle, they were both warriors, battle-hardened to react to invasion with force. Even an invasion of their space as proper as his.

As the last rays of the sun died, Poe simply rumbled to himself and flowed from behind the TV to the floor, and underneath the chair, where shadows already waited to receive him. Once his humans left on their own hunt, he would stand guard over their temporary nest.

After all, Poe wasn't black as night just because it was stylish!

_This was originally just meant to be about Seth or Richie stumbling across Poe in the dark and getting the crap scared out of them! I'd always known that Poe picked out Seth and Kate as his humans, but the idea that he remembers his previous lives (because cats have nine, of course) just came out of my fingers... as did the idea that he knew more about Seth and Kate's place in the mythic fight against the culebras. _

_BTW, Kate's title is completely made up – from Jacob's comment about Kate having 'a light inside you', and the word (rather than the girl's name) Grace means to be favoured by God. Seth's name came from the Popol Vul myth of the Hero twins; one source I came across said that the Twins became the Sun and the Moon, and were known as the Hunter and the Jaguar respectively. So yeah, since we know that Rodriguez is following the myth, it's pretty obvious now which Gecko is which._

_So yeah, I originally predicted I'd finish this project in mid November. Um - sorry? As part of my New Year's resolutions, I'm making a bigger commitment to my writing, so part of that is finishing up the pieces I still 'owe'. _


End file.
